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I'm hoping some of you can give me some good tips for how to 'show' a house. We are planning to sell our house and I need to know how to keep my house clean when I have two kids and two dogs at home??? This is probably a stupid question but how do people keep their houses clean enough to show them while still living in them with toddlers and dogs? I swear I'm going to be cleaning five hours a day. Thanks for your time.
I would be especially aware of smells-I know I have kids and a dog myself. When we showed our house a few years ago, I would have had some candles burning or freshly baked cookies.
1. Clean as you go. I know it's harder than it sounds, but at least the mess won't build up as much.
2. If there are any rooms you do not HAVE to use, then clean them and close them off. The more you can contain the mess, the better.
3. Maybe have the dogs stay at a friends house for a little while. (Especially leading up to an open house) That way it gives you time to get rid of the dog smell... even if you can't smell it, doesn't mean others can't either. Owners tend to get used to the smell of their dogs, and don't notice it, where-as it can smell pretty bad to someone else. They make a febreze for pet odors... it works well.
4. Get rid of dirty dishes and dirty cloths... those are probably the two worst things to see as a home buyer... I can stand a little dust on the TV, or some crumbs in the corner... but if you have a sink full of dirty dishes, or dirty cloths all over your bed... that I couldn't stand. Use the dish washer, and cloths hampers, and keep the hampers in the closet.
Other than that... good luck. I'm sure it'll be hard, but try your best. And remember, the cleaner you keep the house, the sooner it should sell... so maybe use that as motivation.
Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
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Get a Roomba to deal with the daily vacuuming of dog hair and crumbs. I have friends with two high shedding dogs, and their carpets look great all the time. We just got a dog and ordered a roomba the same day From what I have read, they also work well on hard surface floors (we have hardwood). Then, if you aren't already in love with a swiffer wet, get one use that to give kitchen and bath floors a once over before showings. I don't even have the "wet jet," I just used the standard cheapy swiffer with the swiffer wet pads. We'd run that over the kitchen floors before we left for a showing. We had cats then, and we used one of the glade plug-ins in an apple spice smell (turned down VERY low) near the litter box (which was kept pristine). I know some people dislike using air freshners, but it was a cat room/litter box area. We chose apple spice b/c we were selling around Christmas, I'd use basic vanilla any other time. Personally, I feel that anything other than food smells are too fakey and too much like you are covering things up (which you kind of are LOL)
It might require renting a storage space, but pack up about half your stuff to declutter. Have the kids pack up half their toys, if you get them involved, they might be more willing to choose which ones they can do without for a few months.
1- Declutter everything. Go into each room and edit by at least 1/3. 1/3 of the stuff and 1/3 of the furniture. Really. Find your focal point / best feature of each room and play it up.
2- Clean out your closets!! Really. Put away winter stuff in the summer and summer stuff in the winter. Label it in boxes and put in storage. clean out your linen closet and leave only enough bedding so you have to wash and put the sheets right back on. If it is laundry day when a call comes to show, just put the comforter/bedspread on over a mattress. They won't know. Leave just enough towels so each person gets one and have one extra in the linen closet.
3- Hire a professional cleaner for your first deep cleaning. And tell them it is a cleaning for moving. Do baseboards, walls, doors, floors, etc. You can hire a professional window cleaner, and it is worth it!! Windows sparkling is a great winner for selling a house!! If you can't hire one, you can do it yourself, just make sure you do inside and outside. You can buy this stuff at Home Depot that you put on your hose and spray the outside. It helps.
4- if you can keep the pro house cleaner on economically, do it for a once a week or every 2 weeks deep clean.
5- If you can't... Take a weekend and ship the kids and dogs off and do a deep/spring cleaning.
6- Now, for everyday. If the kids are old enough give them a monetary incentive. Everyone gets an incentive when the house sells. Mom and Dad are trying to get the most money, Real Estate Agent is trying to get the most money... Kids can too!! I offer to pay the kids out of my closing a bonus of $50 or $100 when the property closes. It really works, especially with the pre-teens and teenagers. too young and they don't understand.
7- For the younger ones. Get rid of as many old, broken, don't play with toys as possible. Have that yard sale. then go through what is left over and edit!! If you don't have a box or easy storage, get one. It can be where the kids play. when you know someone is coming, open the box and throw it in there. Fast.
8- Follow the advice of the posters above about the swiffer. You can also get swiffer dusters. Hand to the kids and have them go around and dust while you spruce up the floors. Have those quick wipes for bathroom. Go in and do a quick wipe on everything. I keep a plastic tub under the counter and throw anything you need to in there. I keep on at the kitchen as well, when folks are coming, sweep the kitchen area and throw in the tub under the sink. Use a quick wipe and done.
9- Clear your counter tops. You are allowed ONE appliance to remain on the counter. Others have to have a place. If you already boxed up what you didn't need to show how roomy your cabinets are... you have room for those appliances!! Counters need to look large and spacious.
10- Everybody makes their bed in the morning when they get up. And everybody puts thier clothes in the hamper. Everybody!!
It is like living under a microscope, but the better you do those things, the sooner (hopefully) it will be over!!
Good Luck on selling your home.
shelly
Last edited by shellytc; 09-03-2007 at 11:48 AM..
Reason: grammer and spelling : )
This is all great advice. My mother in law liked to say "clean a clean house." Meaning clean every day and don't let it get out of hand. It IS hard work keeping up there's no escaping that. We have two kids aged 2 & 4 ~AND~ 2 cats that seem to be more hairball-prone than ever. In the past we've hidden the litter boxes at showings and the cats are the timid type who hide when the bell rings, so they (and their stuff) aren't visible.
I love a little gadget I found online that looks like a glass squeagee (sp?) You run it across fabric and the pet hair comes off fast. No need for the vacuum if you're in a pinch and need to get the hair off your furniture.
Talking about pets, it's definitely a big turnoff to smell a dog when entering a house. I've gone into homes that I had to feign sickness to get out of before I get past the foyer, the odor was so offending, so it's important to have your rugs and carpets professionally cleaned when your house is listed for sale. If your dog has any skin conditions it will smell worse than usual. If it's not too hot or cold outside to keep them there that's one idea if you're not ok with exiling your pet to someone else's house.
I also feel personally that clutter and collections are also negatives. Too many wall hangings make a room look smaller. Too much furniture blocks the view of your floor, and square footage. I love a sea of floor, especially if it's a nice one. We have the Scooba robot scrubber for hard floors and it works great. It's expensive but I found it refurbished online. It's already paid for itself many times over what a maid service would charge.
My kids have a giant toy chest that holds everything they own. It has a lid and they both get together each night and put everything in that. My rule is if it doesn't fit in that chest it's overflow that goes to Goodwill. We get the girls excited about donating things all through the year.
All you can do is your best. People don't expect that every house is going to be staged to the point where you have to remove family portraits and all signs of kids/pets -- that's ridiculous. This is your home, not a hotel suite. Just remove as much clutter as you can and keep it as clean as possible.
Location: Moved to town. Miss 'my' woods and critters.
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Excellent advice from the above concerning the interior. Gotta remember the exterior also!! Things such as trash cans, outdoor toys, bikes and the like. Need to keep them all under control. Same with a garage, if you have one. And that can be the hardest area to keep 'clean' or uncluttered. Dead or drooping plants must be removed. Anything broken must be removed or repaired...those first impressions really do count
Your front door is the welcome sign. Keep it clean and in good repair. No seasonal decorations, please. Curb appeal also does matter.
Back t the interior for a minute: replace any burned out light bulbs and please replace any bulbs in rooms that are 40 or 60 watt with at least 75 watt. Nothing more gloomy than walking into a room and having to squint to see it. Good luck on the sale of your home.
The people across the street from me sold their house for their high asking price in only eight days! Before putting it on the market they had professionals refresh the landscape including new grass, paint the interior, clean everything including carpets and floors, and had the HVAC and appliances certified.
Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Northwoods Voyager
Back t the interior for a minute: replace any burned out light bulbs and please replace any bulbs in rooms that are 40 or 60 watt with at least 75 watt. Nothing more gloomy than walking into a room and having to squint to see it. Good luck on the sale of your home.
Be sure to check the rated wattage of the light before doing this. Putting a 75 watt bulb in a 40 watt socket could be bad
These are absolutely great ideas, everyone. Thank you so much.
We are slowly getting our house in order...
painted the kitchen cabinets, ripped out old flower beds and planted bushes, mulched like crazy, installed new carpet in one of the bedrooms, the dining room, stairway and upstairs hallway, cleaned out the garage, decluttered every room (except the kitchen...that's next on our list). The only major thing left to do is replace a master bedroom window that has condensation in between the two panes.
We definitely need to wash all of the windows as some had mentioned. And I will look into the roomba vaccuum. The amount of dog hair is unbelieveable! The swiffer is another great idea. ALL of what I read on your posts are GREAT IDEAS!!!! Thank you all so much. Keep the great ideas flowing, please.
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From what I have read, they also work well on hard surface floors (we have hardwood). Then, if you aren't already in love with a swiffer wet, get one use that to give kitchen and bath floors a once over before showings. I don't even have the "wet jet," I just used the standard cheapy swiffer with the swiffer wet pads. We'd run that over the kitchen floors before we left for a showing. 
We had cats then, and we used one of the glade plug-ins in an apple spice smell (turned down VERY low) near the litter box (which was kept pristine). I know some people dislike using air freshners, but it was a cat room/litter box area. We chose apple spice b/c we were selling around Christmas, I'd use basic vanilla any other time. Personally, I feel that anything other than food smells are too fakey and too much like you are covering things up (which you kind of are LOL)
Curb appeal also does matter.
thank you
